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Last month we headed to Nebraska for a week of launch events to introduce Deschutes Brewery beer to the craft beer fans of the Midwest! Since we had never been to "...The Good Life" State, we decided to take "The Kids" along for the ride....and some sightseeing.

Mirror Pond Pale Ale and Black Butte Porter pair very well with sports so our first stop was the TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha. This baseball stadium is the home field of the College World Series and has been since 2011. Due to an agreement with the NCAA, the games will remain there each year until at least 2035. With seating for 24,000, it's a great place to watch the series in the summer, the Creighton University Bluejays in the Spring and the Omaha Nighthawks (United Football League) in the Fall. After hearing "hey, batta, batta, batta, batta," about 100 times from "The Kids," we decided to head on to our next adventure.

Next up we went to see what the animals thought of "The Kids" at Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. Although this location was originally named Riverview Park Zoo in 1894, it was renamed in 1963 after a large donation was made by Margaret Hitchcock Doorly in memory of her husband. Now it's nationally renowned for its leadership in animal conservation and research hosting the largest cat complex in North America, the world's largest nocturnal exhibit, indoor desert, AND glazed geodesic globe! Phew... The zoo is Nebraska's number one paid attraction with more than 25 million visitors over the last 40 years.

Next we headed West on I-80 past the corn fields and more corn fields to the next city where you can find "The Kids" in Nebraska...Lincoln! Named after President Lincoln, the city is home to Memorial Stadium and the Nebraska Cornhuskers Football Team. The stadium is located on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and holds an ongoing NCAA record of 332 consecutive sellouts, which began in 1962! On most days and especially on game days, we dare you to find one person in the state not wearing RED in support of their home team. Mirror Pond Pale Ale fit right in with the maroon and cream label so the game day bantering began.

After talking with some Cornhusker fans about the stadium and how the game was amazing (even though they had the "nose bleed" seats), it reminded us to check out the 3rd tallest building in all of Nebraska.

The Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln houses the primary executive, judicial and legislative offices of the US State of Nebraska and was constructed between 1922 and 1932 (huh...it was during prohibition so no tasty beer after a hard day of construction, so sad). The tower was originally intended for an expansion of the state library but there were so many state employees that it was turned into offices instead. In total there are 15 full floor stories and you can check out views of the city from the observatory decks 245 feet above the ground. "The Kids" enjoyed the view and all of the sights but it was time to get back to work spreading the Deschutes love and beer samples to the craft beer fans of Nebraska.

"The Kids" didn't know what to expect coming all the way from Bend, Oregon to "...somewhere in middle America" (as the Counting Crows put it so musically) but they loved the time spent in Nebraska meeting with friendly people, craft beer fans, eating at amazing restaurants, enjoying pints at Beer Corner USA and lots of other craft beer spots.

"The Kids" have decided to stay in the Midwest and they brought along some of their other Deschutes Brewery beer friends to share. Find them all at a location near you by using our helpful Beer Finder Tool. Cheers to "...The Good Life!"